Our Meeting

 
Meeting Summer
 


Our Meeting is a small Friends (Quaker) faith community who gather for weekly worship to share fellowship and care for one another as we seek to live in the world with God’s guidance. We are a dynamic group of people from all walks of life who come together without the assistance of clergy or paid church staff to worship.

The work to support and care for our community is shared among its members and attenders. Each week we gather in silent expectant worship in the same manner as Friends who have worshiped here in our Meeting House for over 300 years. We welcome you to come and experience our way of faith and practice. Our Meetings for Worship are open to all.

If you are new to Quaker silent worship click here to learn more. Explore our web site to learn more about our Friends Meeting here in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. To contact us, click this contact link.
 
Here are some definitions to help with understanding of words we use on this web site to describe our community.

Friend = Quaker

The official name of our faith community is the Religious Society of Friends. Here in the USA and around the world we are known by this name and by modern Friend's acceptance of the name Quaker.

The name Quaker was first used in 1647 to describe women from Southwark England who were not associated with Friends. It had become a derogatory description of these woman and others in the religious explosion of the 1600's, referencing those who "swell, shiver and shake" when having a personal spiritual experience.

George Fox records in his journal (1650) that Judge Bennett used the period epithet "Quaker" to describe Fox and his followers in response to Fox bidding him "to tremble at the name of the Lord."  Later, Robert Barclay records that the name came from the trembling of Friends under the powerful working of the Holy Ghost. (Braithwait's Beginnings of Quakerism to 1660).

The word Friend is one of the original terms (1654) that early Quakers began using to greet each other and describe themselves to the world. Other forms of self description were; Children of the light, Publishers of the Truth, Friends in the Truth (John 1:9) or simply Friends.

The scripture context of John 15:15 says: “ I have called you Friends ...” in defining the familiarity and intimacy of Jesus’s love for the people of his life (eternal) who are striving to live into his teachings. This word is appropriate for describing the relationship that draws Quakers into right relationship to one another and direct relationship with God which is at the foundation of Quaker worship.

"The uniting of wills in the discipline of worship engenders true friendship in the eternal" (Douglas Gwyn; Quaker Meditations on the Gospel of John).

Meeting

The word Meeting has several meanings in Quaker speak. Depending on context, the term Meeting may be referring to:

  • "Coming together" -- to worship or do business (Meeting for Worship, Meeting for Business).
  • A Friends (Quaker) faith community.
There are three groups of Quaker Meetings:
  1. Monthly Meeting -- a gathering of Friends who meet regularly (usually weekly) for worship and once a month to  attend to the business of the faith community. This use of the world Meeting is similar to the way that other faith communities call their gatherings churches, synagogues or mosques.
  2. Quarterly Meeting -- a group of more than one meeting in a geographical area (usually 3 to 15). This grouping of Monthly Meetings come together four times a year to worship, socialize and do the business of the Quarterly Meeting.
  3. Yearly Meeting -- A larger collection of Quarterly Meetings that may include Meetings from multiple States that meet one or more times a year to worship, socialize and do the business of the Yearly Meeting. 

 

First Day = Sunday

Early Friends used the number of the day of the week or month instead of the names of Greek Gods. The First Day of the week is Sunday.

Hello
Hello and welcome to our meeting. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about joining us for worship or other events.
Click here to see more.

Planning your Visit

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New to Quaker Meetings for Worship? 


If you've never attended a un-programed Meeting for Worship, we hope you will come worship with us -- give it a try.
Click here for directions and contact information.
Our Meeting house and facilities are wheel chair accessible. Assistance with navigating the gravel parking lot is available as needed.
We are a small Meeting how ever adults with clearances are available weekly for child care and lessons for children of all ages.
   
Meeting for Worship is the heart of the Religious Society of Friends. It is a place of communion with the always present living Spirit of God. “Our worship is the search for communion with God and offering of our selves – body and soul- for doing God’s will.” Faith and Practice 1974    

This is a lofty purpose as we step out of our everyday life on a Sunday morning. Alone, without Clergy to lead our thoughts. Without music chosen for us to raise our spirits. Nor art upon the walls and windows to bring its beauty into our hearts. Yet “Some people find that almost instantly when they attend their first Friends Meeting for Worship, as they settle into the silence, they feel themselves gathered into a living Presence and they know they have come home at last. Others may experience their first Quaker worship as difficult and strange, but something keeps drawing them back until they gradually grow into a richer and richer experience of worship. And some people, including life long Quakers, never seem to find it at all and sometimes turn away to other forms of worship..” Bill Tabor: Four Doors  

As you chose to come in and sit down to worship with us, let go of any shoulds and needs. Simply know that you are loved and rest in the peace of the gathered community.

Many have found help in metaphors, like the one below about the pebble, or in reading the experience of others in Meeting for worship and/or viewing the "introductory" videos (below) to answer questions that might arise in expectation of attending a Quaker Meeting for Worship. Please feel free to contact us with any questions. We are happy to talk with you or correspond by email. 
 
ripples


A message offered during worship -- vocal ministry -- has been described as a pebble tossed into a pond. The resulting ripples are received by others in the meeting and may contribute to their own spiritual journeys. 
 
Readings about Meeting for Worship in the manner of un-programmed Friends
 
video
Videos about Meeting for Worship (Click ► to open table of videos)  
 
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                                                     New to Meeting for Worship
 

New to Meeting for Worship in the Manner of Friends

 
Worship 1

Quaker Worship Part 1:
The Challenge of Sitting in Silence


What happens when you try to sit in silence for an hour? These seven Quakers discuss the challenge of being alone with one’s thoughts in Quaker worship, and the opportunity for grace and true communion on the other side.
Worship 2

Quaker Worship Pt 2:
Giving Vocal Ministry


In the Quaker religion, adherents believe that a higher power can speak through them. We asked Quakers what it’s actually like to experience this.
 
Worship 3

Quaker Worship Pt 3:
The Gathered Meeting


The potential for this worshiping experience that you’re going to be walking into, it’s one of the most inspiring things that I’ve ever witnessed and been part of, which I think is the reason I’m still Quaker with all the things that I struggle with. It’s that potential that keeps us there. But the potential is this thing that we call a “gathered” meeting or a “covered” meeting.
 
Wilson

Why Quakers Worship In Silence

On the surface, it can seem like Quaker worship is just sitting in silence. But as Lloyd Lee Wilson explains, something much more profound is happening.

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My First Time at Quaker Meeting


“My 1st impression of Quaker meeting was confusion. I really couldn't believe that people were uniting together in practice, not in dogma. This was literally incomprehensible to me. The fact that people believed different things and used different language and yet could come together to be a great community because they shared the same set of practices...”

What's it like to attend Quaker meeting for worship for the first time? We asked 6 Friends what they remember about their first experience.
 
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Quaker Silence


"Silence is the ground out of which worship comes. The silence leaves the space for the sound, the whisper, even the noise of the spirit."

We asked a diverse group of Friends what they find most valuable about silence in Meeting for Worship. This is what they said.
 
Quaker Glossary

The Difference Between Quaker Meeting
and Other Services

"We are a seeking faith community. We experience the space in which we can explore our spiritual journey. We are not offering answers, but trying to ask the right questions." 

How does Quaker Meeting compare to other Christian services? Quaker author Ben Pink Dandelion explores this question.

 

 

Modern Quakers
                                                                  Quakerism in the 21st Century

 

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Quaker Glossary
 

“Monthly Meeting”, “Clerk”, “Convincement”, “Clearness”, “Minutes” – What do all these words have in common? They all mean something specific to Quakers! In this video we teamed up with Philadelphia Yearly Meeting to define 12 common Quaker terms.    
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9 Core Quaker Beliefs
 

As a lifelong Quaker, Arthur Larrabee was frustrated that he couldn’t answer the question, “What do Quakers believe?” So he set out to do just that. 

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The Experience of Newcomers


What draws seekers to Quakerism, and what keeps them coming back? Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and QuakerSpeak asked seven people who have been attending Meeting for 2 years or less.
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What Do Quakers Believe?
 

What do Quakers believe? As an experiential religion with no creed, there isn’t always an easy answer. We asked 26 Quakers about belief, and the resulting conversations were powerful.
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Leaving Quakerism Better
 

Norval Reece was giving a tour of his Quaker meetinghouse when someone asked, “What is this space used for now?” That’s when he realized we’ve got to do a better job of telling our story. 
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How Quaker Meeting Changed My Life
 

Lidney Molnari was “church shopping” when he had an experience that spoke to his condition at Live Oak Friends Meeting in Houston, TX.
 

 

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                                                               Some History of Quakerism


Some History of Quakerism    

 

BPD - Quakerism 09-2022 #1

The Start of Quakerism (Part 1 of 4)
 

Ben Pink Dandelion (of the Woodbrooke Center (Professor of Quaker Studies)) discusses the origins of Quakers.     
BPD - Quakerism 09-2022 #2

The Start of Quakerism (Part 2 of 4)
 

(Part 2 of a 4 part series)  Ben Pink Dandelion (of the Woodbrooke Center (Professor of Quaker Studies)) discusses the origins of Quakers.    

Ben Pink Dandelion 09-2022 3rd of 4 Quaker History Videos

The Start of Quakerism (Part 3 of 4)

(Part 3 of a 4 part series)  Ben Pink Dandelion (of the Woodbrooke Center (Professor of Quaker Studies)) discusses the origins of Quakers.

BPD - Quakerism 09-2022 #4

The Start of Quakerism (Part 4 of 4)


(Part 4 of a 4 part series)  Ben Pink Dandelion (of the Woodbrooke Center (Professor of Quaker Studies)) discusses the origins of Quakers.